Snowy owl in habitat-tough conditions, high ISO and good and bittersweet day in the field

[arash_hazeghi]

I spent this weekend photographing snowy owls with Doug Brown and Don Nelson. Conditions were tough and light was low, for the first time I used tripod for some of my photos (not this one). The snowys are gorgeous species and despite very rough conditions (heavy rain, wind and freezing temperatures) we had a very productive day. However during the shoot I lost my CF card wallet including two full 16GB cards (about 1000 photos including 70+ flight sequence that I will never be able to repeat again) :(( I searched the filed for several hours but the CF but I didn't find them. Those photos are history. Fortunately there were a number of good shots on the last CF card that was in my camera, but overall I lost over 80% of my photos :( Please be careful not to lose your valuable photos!

Attachment 106983

1D4 700mm f/5.6 ISO 2000 (+0.5 EV in post equivalent 3200) handheld in light rain I used my high ISO processing technique to recover details and fortunately it worked well, but I do wish I could get the rest of my photos back Many thanks to Don for hosting us.

[Sid Garige]

Exceptional detials and fantastic IQ for 2000 ISO.

[Ishmeet Sahni]

A marvelous image, the exposure of the whites is spot on. The only disturbing thing are the spots ( I think they are rain drops) on the left and above the owl, I would clone them out.

[yogesh_puranik]

amazing image looking out the conditions..superb IQ..& really very sad to heard that you lost the photos..lets hope you wiill get it back..
BTW: can you share high ISO processing technique pls.

[arash_hazeghi]

A marvelous image, the exposure of the whites is spot on. The only disturbing thing are the spots ( I think they are rain drops) on the left and above the owl, I would clone them out.

Yes, they are rain drops, for these series I opted to keep everything as is and not sterilize the image because every bit has a story for me, this was taken right before we left and rain was picking up. I was so sad I had lost my cards, I was even reluctant to get this one. The wind makes it difficult to handhold the rig... and with such ISOs and underexposure it's a big gamble. I was really lucky it worked.

but I appreciate you noted the distractions. In the final version that goes for print I will sure remove the drops.

Thanks again

[arash_hazeghi]

amazing image looking out the conditions..superb IQ..& really very sad to heard that you lost the photos..lets hope you wiill get it back..
BTW: can you share high ISO processing technique pls.

Thanks Yogesh, I hope too that someone will step on the wallet and return my CF cards.

Regarding High ISO, it's a bit involved so I made a detailed guide that is available on my website if you are interested.

Cheers,

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely habitat capture. Those raindrops look like snowflakes. I am so sorry that you lost your card wallet, Arash. Glad you had some keepers in the card you did have, so all was not lost.

[dankearl]

Excellent Arash, I sort of like the raindrops (I am an Oregonian), I see no noise at all, A very nice day for all of you, sorry about the card,
I hope you get it back.

[James Salywoda]

Beautiful Arash!!!! Excellent composition and pose I like the falling raindrops and am glad you left them in the pic. I'm sorry to hear about the card lost man that must be tough especially the lost pics.

[arash_hazeghi]

Beautiful Arash!!!! Excellent composition and pose I like the falling raindrops and am glad you left them in the pic. I'm sorry to hear about the card lost man that must be tough especially the lost pics.

Jim, I wished my rig was lost instead of those cards, can replace the rig but can't replace those flight shots :(

[James Salywoda]

Jim, I wished my rig was lost instead of those cards, can replace the rig but can't replace those flight shots :(

I'm sure you would take the flight shots over the static shots any day...... I bet they were stunning :0 )

[v.p.nurdeen]

Hi Arash,
Superb image great exposure. Sorry to hear about your CF card loss.
VPN

[Brendan Dozier]

Real nice, Arash, nice looking snowy and like the habitat. Wonderful whites, agree about removing the faint drops. That is tough losing those cards, but try getting out there again if you can, maybe the weather will be better and the shots even more spectacular.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Arash, excellent exposure, good eye contact, and I like the overall setting in this. The droplets show what miserable conditions you describe.

Bad luck on your card - not good.

[RakeshDhareshwar]

This is an exceptional shot under the conditions !! Hope you get your CF cards back .

[Richard Unsworth]

Sorry to hear about your lost cards, I would rewalk the area if you can and wish you luck with their return

Fabulous pic, nothing else to add

[gail bisson]

Beautiful image and I am so sorry you lost your cards. I have no nits with this image at all. I like the raindrops as well. Amazing ISO and NR. Love the colors and muted browns and creams,
Gail

[Vikram Agrawal]

Brilliant image Arash, I love the eyes of these birds. Saw a BBC documentary a short while ago about how silent their flight is...incredible creatures.

Sorry to hear about your memory cards, hopefully someone else spots them and reports a "found memory card with beautiful pictures" on one of these forums.

[Sachin Saraf]

Sorry to hear about your loss Arash...I am sure we will be deprived of some great Snowy flight images because of this and wish someone comes across the card pouch and returns it to you...

This is an excellent Image and I am really getting interested in your NR guide

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful image!! Exposed perfectly, great pose, and excellent comp.
Well done.
Sorry about your cards, hopefully someone finds them and they make their way back to you.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Sorry to hear abt the card. but looks like you've kept a positive attitude. I'd have been devastated.

great shot...loved the habitat. IQ, contrast, details....superb on all counts. Where?

[Melissa Groo]

Ugh, so sorry to hear about the cards. Worst nightmare for a photographer! You are so good and so dedicated though, I know you'll get other snowys in flight someday. And who knows, maybe those cards will show up someday.
This is a beautiful portrait though, and at least you have it. Great job on the whites.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Sorry to hear about your images bhai... But don't worry god is only pushing you to get better flight shots.

[Carmelo Cannova]

Another outstanding owl shot. Great comp and beautifully exposed.

Carmelo

[Doug Brown]

It was a genuine shame that you lost your cards, but you most certainly didn't come away empty handed. We had a great time out west! And this shot is first rate! Nice job with the NR!

[Tom Redd]

What more can be said, beautiful bird and shot, very, very sorry about the card, I would have loved to seen the pics....

[Don Nelson]

Superb image, Arash. You did a superb job with the noise reduction.
Your cards may yet be found -- you didn't lose them in the areas flooded by salt water, and CF can sustain moisture as they are sealed.
It was an outstanding weekend.

[arash_hazeghi]

Superb image, Arash. You did a superb job with the noise reduction.
Your cards may yet be found -- you didn't lose them in the areas flooded by salt water, and CF can sustain moisture as they are sealed.
It was an outstanding weekend.

Thanks a lot Don for hosting us, it was a pleasure meeting you! Just seeing these impressive owls up close and personal is very rewarding :)